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This guy even knew Cheren, and Bianca, and even Hilda! Wait, this guy wasn't some A-class stalker, was he? Just how long had he been following him, just to 'coincidentally' run into him...?

Now that was a scary thought.

Though... He was surprised that he knew that story.

Hilbert would noticeably tense up, raising a hand to scratch at his cheek as he looked towards the side. In all honesty, he really was more than just stunned here.

"...Man, you really do seem to know me. I don't know how you'd know that stuff unless you weren't just...stalking me the whole time..." He'd turn his head back, the hand at his cheek moving to rub the back of his neck as he offered up a semblance of a cheeky smile.

"And you don't seem like the kinda guy who'd do that, right? So... Wait, did you get other me's number, too?" The more and more Collum went on, the more and more Black seemed to find the idea amusing.

Good ol Hilbert seemed kinda hesitant, but he was starting to become more and more responsive towards Collum's statements. "Oh, shit no, I wouldn't stalk anybody! Nobody's worth stalkin' if I gotta stalk them! Look, uh..."

Black asked if Collum knew his number, and that was a problem. Collum didn't actually.....wait a second, hey now! "Oh shit, your number? Hold on a sec!" Collum unzipped his satchel, then turned it upside down and shook it. Out came a few items here and there, followed by a lot of empty wrappers and other assorted garbage, before...

"Aha! Fuck yeah!" An old, scuffed Pokenav fell out. Collum quickly tossed his satchel, diving for the Pokenav. "I got your fuckin number right here!" He seemed to fiddle around with it, but from his perspective, he found Hilbert's old number and dialed it.

The likelihood that alternate universe Hilbert had this number was slim, but there was still an attempt. Maybe it'll be the one thing that confirms it.

Hilbert doubted the whole thing to a safe degree even still, but when he casually looked towards his wrist and felt it vibrating...

Boy, did his eyes widen. What were the chances of meeting someone out here that knew all of that, AND had his number? Even if it wasn't an alternate universe thing, it had to be real, there was...no way a stalker could ever get all of this information.

"Did... Did I just lose my memory or something? Because this is one of the weirdest things I've ever come across in a long time," he'd mutter, his lips pursing together as he brought his wrist up, accepting the call even if they were right beside each other. They'd show up on each other's screens, but it was kind of pointless.

But when Hilbert smiled on that little screen, Collum couldn't help but crack a smile. "Oh fuck yeah, boyyy!" Thank god the battery didn't seem to decay during the long-ass vaycay in the Distortion World.

As Collum ended the call, he looked back up at Hilbert. "Look, this might be all fucky, but it don't even register on the scale of weird shit. I got yanked into the Distortion World by Giratina, and I was stuck there for so long holy shit before I fell out a fuckin mirror."

Collum brought his hand through his hair as he sighed in relief. Fuck, it really was nice that we were in believe territory. "Man, I heard it was 2016. That's, like, three years and some change or some shit after I got stuck in void hell. Before I got caught, you only had, like, two or three badges...now I catch wind that you're a fuckin champion? Man, that's crazy as....oh shit, I just remembered something!"

The pokenav popped back open, and Collum fiddled around on it for a few seconds, before turning it to Hilbert as he grinned. On the screen were the Superfriends (and Collum), and it looked like they were taking a group #selfie. "I got more pictures than just this, man. It's been so fuckin long since I've cracked open this thing."

The screen on his Pokenav would flash, and the next second it'd turn black.

His arm would fall low, Hilbert shoving that hand right into his hoodie pocket. Collum said something about falling out of a mirror, and spending time in the literal Distortion World, and while it didn't make much sense to him, he supposed he just had to take it at face value.

After all, it's not like it'd be the first time something really abnormal happened.

It was weird to hear about his past self, like someone came directly from the past just to see how far he'd come... Yeah, he remembered when he only had two or three badges, that was about when the entirety of that adventure went off the rails.

"Yeah, that was definitely a while ago, it was... Huh?"

...But man, that smile of his flattened the instant Collum showed off that group selfie, showcasing those who he'd been trying to put towards the back of his mind.

Cheren, Bianca, Hilda...

He'd turn away after taking in the sight for a good solid second or two, his hand clenched into a fist within his hoodie.

"Oh, yeah, I uh... It's okay, dude, I really don't gotta see those. That's not...even me..." He'd feel his tone soften, his expression a bit strained. It...wasn't him, they weren't his friends, They were just...them from another universe or something anyway, right?

It was a bad defense when he'd just been on the 'yeah that's totally me' train there.

For the lead-up to the uncomfiness, Collum was smiling wider and wider, breaking out into full grins....and then Hilbert seemed to bolt down. In a surprising twist, Collum actually picked up on this, as his smile dropped and he moved the pokenav a bit away. "Oh, shit, uh, then...I'll just....uh..."

Collum swiped at the screen, attempting to SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN....but instead of that, he accidentally switched to another picture. It was one of Collum and N, and it looked like....it looked like N was completely sans shirt.

WEIRD

Collum breathed sharply and then just closed the nav. "Haha, well fuck, th-that was not...meant...to be happened. Sorry about that man, I didn't mean to get you all fucked up over some photo album shit." The pokenav found itself getting shoved back into the satchel.

No, no, hold the front door up, why would N even have his shirt off in the first place? N...? Of all people?

...That wasn't the important part. Hilbert let his eyes linger over to where Collum's hand was with that Pokenav, his expression seemingly lowering as he tried to process it. Collum had known N, he knew Cheren, he knew Bianca, he knew Hilda, he knew...him...

Right...?

"Hey, it's...it's not a big deal, dude, " he'd mutter out, closing his eyes for a brief moment as he tried to recollect himself. The truth of that matter was...that he couldn't just ignore it forever. He had to at least...look back and reflect on something. Even if they might not be bonded towards each other anymore, he at least...wanted to remember it some, no matter how much it might hurt.

With that in mind, he'd pull his hand out of his hoodie pocket, giving a dismissing sort of wave over to him.

"I...changed my mind, can you...show me more pics? I haven't seen any of them in a long time, but... I think it'd be cool to see them again, even if they're just pictures."

He'd open those brown eyes of his, giving Collum a bright, forced smile; reassuring him just as much as he was reassuring himself.

Just when Collum figured he finally cracked the 'how to understand what others are feeling and thinking' code, Blapck just had to go ahead and toss that shit out of the window. THANKS BUDDY. IT'S REALLY APPRECIATED.

My guy looked pretty confused, but slowly, he pulled out the nav. "Oh, uh...okay then, man. Whatever you say." As he cracked the thing open, he quickly swiped the screen, moving away from the N picture. "..just gonna move past that..." he murmured.

The next picture was of a little girl sitting on the edge of a cliff, in front of an unnaturally purple...sky..? This caused Collum to scoff. "Fuck off Tina." He swiped through a few more, some featuring a red-haired lady and others featuring more of the little girl, with at least one showing off, wow, a BIG GREY-RED-AND-GOLD DRAGON I WONDER WHAT THAT IS.

After a few swipes, though, Collum let out a "Hah, there we go!" It was a pic of the Superfriends eating food at some restaurant. Collum himself was absent, but that's probably because he was taking the picture. "If you wanna see anymore, just tell me, man."

Whoever Tina was and whatever that unnaturally purply picture was, it was none of his business, he figured. Probably an ex or something... And he had to guess that Collum fucked with the effects on that picture whenever he took it. He'd done something like that before with his own, it always did add a stylistic twist!

...Whenever he sent pictures to his friends anyway, which didn't happen these days anyway. A hand would grip the brim of his hat as his reassuring smile started to give way, as that picture came up on the screen...

There he was, years ago, with his best friends. There they were, looking so...alive and everything. Cheren... Bianca... Hilda... He...missed all of them, all the ways he could talk to them and what they'd say back. Maybe it was just because he hadn't really seen them save for their memories for the past while, but it'd hit him hard. His expression would meld into a somber one as his eyes continued to stare at it, and Hilbert...felt like a lump was coming up in his throat.

Still, he had to start somewhere, right?

"...Yeah," he'd manage to get out, "If...you got any more, I'd love to see them, I mean... I guess it doesn't hurt, right?" As he said that, he'd take a small little breather and turn his head to the side, face trying to remain as stern as he could make it...and failing a bit. Hilbert Black was not really good at this, okay.

Man. Hilbert seemed kinda fucked up about this whole ordeal. Even Collum was feeling the overall aura of melancholy radiating off of Hilbert.

But....this wasn't necessarily a bad sadness. Maybe it's the sadness before everything gets better? Darkest before dawn, I guess, but not necessarily a hard dark, either.

Maybe. Who knows? Whatever, Collum isn't the one for musing about emotions. If it's not spin-kicking animals or being great, it's not something Collum's well-acquainted with. So, after giving a smile back to Hilbert, he began flicking through his photo album.

And with each flick, a new picture would come up--old memories that Hilbert had long since put behind him. Couldn't really keep them behind him when they were literally right in his face, though.

With his increasingly distant expression, his eyes would never leave the screen. His hand would still be gripping the brim of that hat of his, easing it down somewhat as his fingers idly moved across it. He guessed he didn't really explain much of anything to Collum, though it wasn't like he had to, anyway... He was just some weirdo from another universe.

A universe where they were pals.

Might as well do his other universe self a favor, then.

His posture would ease up somewhat, the dude forcing a smile as he relaxed his expression. That hand gripping the cap would just fall by his side, swinging slowly. "I had a lotta fun back then, I can tell other me did too with you and the others..." He'd rub his nose, throwing out a soft little chuckle--his smile not breaking once. "Heh, I really am a terrible friend... A few years by myself, and all I've got to show for it is all this dirt on me."

Collum let out a sigh as he also remembered those fond memories of people who were now fucking dead. Yeah, it was fun, albeit something that felt kinda off because he was, like, two or three years older than they were.

Just a weird feel. Just a lil bit of one.

Initially, Collum smiled at Hilbert's first statement, but that turned into a frown at his second. "Oh, shit, fuck, no, don't be bothered by all these pics! If anything, I guess I'm the shit friend. I was gone for so long, everything is different in the rawest kinda way, and I'm sitting here, guilt-trippin' you over shit!" Collum let out another sigh, though this one was more out of self-irritation. "Man, maybe I shouldn't have opened my mouth. Why do I keep tryna talk to people I used to know? It's just all weird, wet, and wacky for everyone."